'In 2006 the respected UK Henley Centre for Forecasting disclosed findings from a tracking poll that had been posing the same set of questions for over twenty years. Each year the pollsters had asked, "Do you think the quality of life in Britain is best improved by (a) looking after the community's interests instead or our own or (b) looking after ourselves, which ultimately raises standards for all?
Before the year 2000 the overwhelming majority had chosen (a). Most people thought that the best way to improve the quality of life for everybody was to put other people's interests ahead of their own. But as a new millennium dawned, the gap began to close. And just six years later a majority (53%) of those interviewed chose option (b). For the first time in the history of the poll more people believed in looking after "me" first.'
Glynn Harrison, The Big Ego Trip: Finding true significance in a culture of self-esteem, p.59.
